Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Starting to Find a New Me

I am so amazed at the change in my body in just over a week on the GAPS diet! I was emailing a friend of mine the other day and listing how I feel different- and the list just kept going on! I told Joel the other night, "I feel like a completely different person!". His response? "You're acting like a completely different person."

Not only had I not had an allergic reaction to any foods since starting this (I say had- because last night I did have one- but it was nothing compared to what I usually experience, and I'll get to that later.), I have so much energy!!! I had forgotten what it was like to have energy. Getting out of bed in the morning is not the intense struggle it has been for so long (like over 7 years long, we're talking about here); I feel awake and ready to deal with the day long before noon; it is actually almost hard to sit and knit at times because it's not active enough. I honestly have not felt this energized for many years. I would venture to say- since before I had kids.

Granted- this does seem like an excess of energy. I feel "keyed" up. But at the same time, it doesn't seem like a bad kind of "keyed" up. When it is time to sleep, I am able to go to sleep. And sleep better and feel more rested by my sleep than I have for a very long time. My nutritionist and I think that this hyper-energy is my body ping-ponging- trying to find stable ground. After being down and empty and toxic for so very long, it's pretty natural for my body to "flip out" and try the opposite aspect now that it's getting what it needs and not getting toxified (yes, I made up that word. Just now. Don't you like it?). Eventually, a balance will be found. But I confess, I am truly enjoying this excess of energy right now!

I am using some of the energy for the prep and cooking required to eat what I need right now. Last weekend, Joel visited my parents to do some work for them, and he brought home bounty from Mom's garden.
Take a look at this:

This is a beet. With the root and top cut off. That jar- is a half gallon size. That beet was just about the size of my head! With that one beet, I made a half gallon of beet kvass:

And had enough left over to freeze 2 quart bags full of chopped beet:

And there is still a box of beets for me to process and freeze for later. :) I get to try the kvass this afternoon- it will be done fermenting then.

So on the intro of the GAPS diet, you start with very basic healing foods: bone broth, boiled carrots, cauliflower, broccoli, leeks, onions, and any kind of squash. Then you gradually add in specific foods and see if your body has healed enough to tolerate them. By the time you go through all 6 stages of the intro diet, you've added in a lot of foods, and the full GAPS includes even more. It just doesn't have starches, grains, or sugars, because those are the most difficult to digest- and the ones that bad bacteria and microbes feed on the most and produce toxic byproducts from.

I'm just in stage 2 at this point. It's time for me to add egg yolk and avocado. It's best to take a day or 2 for each food, just to be easy on your body. So last night, I tried egg yolk. For the first time in 15 years. I did this very carefully, as egg is one that I was told years ago that I am "allergic" to. So first, I broke open a yolk and smeared some on the inside of my wrist and left it for hours (it's supposed to be overnight- but I always forget and go to bed without it, so I just did it in the morning). This is the Sensitivity Test. It was fine. There was a touch of itching, but I think that was just the feel of the yolk drying.

However, when I ate the yolk last night, I could tell my body was not ready for it! Normally, I would have an allergic reaction requiring Epi-Pen. Last night, my stomach was a bit upset, my asthma was annoying (not an attack, just needed an extra bit of inhaler), and I got an itchy throat. Oh, and a back ache (weird, huh? Never expected that!). And this morning, I was exhausted. It's crazy how FOOD affects the body!!!!!

So now, what I do is quit with the yolk (duh, right?), and go back to what I was eating before. I'm going to give my body a couple days to recover, then I'll try a different food, and keep working on advancing through the stages of the diet. In a week or two, when I feel like I'm doing well, I'll revisit the egg yolk- again with the Sensitivity Test first.

In the meantime, I am eating Ginger Squash Soup, Cauliflower with Beef soup, and soups that I just kind of throw together with the ingredients I am allowed. Add to that sauerkraut, beet kvass, and homemade carrot juice for probiotics and digestive support. This weekend, I'll add roast and avocado. I don't anticipate trouble with avocado, as it's a food I've never really eaten much of, so my body has no negative reactions to it at this point that I know of. :)

The diet is pretty intense, but wow. I'm serious, I'm starting to find a new me, and I am so excited about it!